Overwhelming Threat Environment Identified by Tenable Network Security as Top Challenge Facing UK Infosec Professionals

Tenable Network Security®, Inc., a global leader transforming security technology for the business needs of tomorrow, confirmed that UK information security professionals participating in its 2016 Global Cybersecurity Assurance Report Card identified an overwhelming cyber threat environment as the number one challenge currently facing organizations across all industry sectors.

More than 67 percent of UK infosec professionals ranked the overwhelming threat environment as the top challenge, with a shortage of qualified workers a close second and low security awareness among employees in third place. Still, more than half (nearly 54 percent) say they feel optimistic about their organization’s ability to defend against cyberattacks.

“Today’s cybercriminals are well funded, highly motivated, and more sophisticated than ever, but the good news is that the industry is evolving to better meet these threats,” said Gavin Millard, Technical Director EMEA, Tenable Network Security. “Attackers exploit the gaps between traditional cyber defenses, and smart CISOs know that best-of-breed point products are no longer sufficient. Instead, CISOs are investing in comprehensive next-generation platform technologies that deliver continuous visibility, critical context and the ability to take decisive action.”

To maintain a strong security posture in the face of an overwhelming threat environment, organizations can focus on basic security hygiene including employee education, regular vulnerability assessments, limited employee access and patching to gain a comprehensive view of network activity and reduce cyber risk.

About the 2016 Global Cybersecurity Assurance Report Card

Tenable surveyed 504 IT security professionals employed by organizations with 1,000+ employees in August 2015. A 12-question web-based survey asked respondents to provide a rating on a five-point scale. By adding together the two most-favorable responses (e.g., strongly agree + somewhat agree) for each question, and then averaging together associated responses, two summary indices were derived. The Risk Assessment Index measured an organization’s ability to assess cybersecurity risks across 10 key components of enterprise IT infrastructure. The Security Assurance Index measured an organization’s ability to mitigate threats by investing in security infrastructure fueled by executive and board level commitment. The index scores were averaged to produce the overall report card score for each country and industry. For more information, please visit http://tenable.com/2016-global-cybersecurity-assurance-report-card/.